Arts Solo performances address AIDS, prisons, race, identity, more
| Solo performances address AIDS, prisons, race, identity, more |
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| Thursday, October 22, 2009 | |
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Five solo performances will address issues of AIDS, prisons, race, gay identity and more Nov. 13-22 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The series, “Solo Takes On: Divas, Detentions and Diaspora,” features professional actor/writers from across the country and UNC faculty, graduate and undergraduate students. It is presented by the communication studies department in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences and by the Carrboro ArtsCenter. “We are honored to have legendary solo performers like Michael Kearns and remarkable, committed theater artists like Ashley Lucas and Gregory Ramos working in concert with UNC student performers to explore the boundaries of what the solo performance can achieve,” said Joseph Megel, managing director of performance at UNC. The “Solo” schedule is as follows:
“Intimacies” will be performed at the Carrboro ArtsCenter at 300-G E. Main St., Carrboro. Tickets – $15 for the public and $10 for UNC students and faculty – and can be purchased through the ArtsCenter at (919) 929-2787 or http://www.artscenterlive.org/index.php?a=Theatre&b=Current%20Productions&id.
All other performances will be at UNC in studio 6 of Swain Hall, near the corner of South Columbia Street and Cameron Avenue. Tickets for each performance are $10 for the public and $5 for UNC students and faculty. A “Solo Pass” for all five shows is $25 for the public and $15 for UNC students and faculty. These tickets are available through the communication studies department at (919) 962-2311 or at the door. Twenty years ago, Kearns, a Los Angeles actor, wrote and performed “Intimacies” in commemoration of World AIDS Day. The “Solo” series featured performance, “Intimacies” tells a story of Fernando, a macho flamenco dancer; Big Red, a black female street hooker; Patrick, a Hollywood pretty boy; Phoenix, a homeless man living under the freeway; Marilyn (as in Monroe) and Father Anthony, a Catholic priest. Lucas, an assistant professor of dramatic art at Carolina and the child of an incarcerated father, performs “Doin’ Time: Through the Visiting Glass.” She weaves her personal experience with letters and interviews with more than 400 prisoners, their families and prison workers. She uses monologues, voice-overs, and video to take the audience through a variety of perspectives on families of the incarcerated. Glitter, heels and femme magic abound in Hegemony’s “Hard as Diamonds,” a five-person spin on a one-woman show that highlights the drag scene of Eastern Europe. Previously known as Maria Facelli, Hegemony is a senior communication studies major for whom the performance contributes to her undergraduate honors work. Also performing in “Hard as Diamonds” will be visual arts major Peter Pendigrass, communication studies graduate student Marjorie Hazeltine, media production major Nic Anthony and performance studies major Haley Koch. Ramos’ show, “Border Stories,” explores the dualities of being Latino and gay. Composed of monologues inspired by interviews conducted with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people who live on the U.S.-Mexico border, the performance uses the border as a metaphor to contemplate the construction of nations, communities and people. Ramos has performed professionally in theater, film and television. He teaches directing, playwriting and diversity in the American Theatre of the University of Vermont. Additional support for the “Solo” series comes from the Teatro Latino Series, a new initiative which brings U.S. Latino/a theater artists to the UNC campus for talks, workshops, play readings and performances. For more information, visit http://comm.unc.edu/newsevents. Photos: Lucas in ‘Doin Time,’ http://uncnews.unc.edu/images/stories/news/arts/2009/lucas.jpg Ramos in ‘Border Stories,” http://uncnews.unc.edu/images/stories/news/arts/2009/ramos.jpg Communication studies contact: Gretchen Fox,
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